A Dark and Stormy Life
by AmusingAnomaly
Summary: King Stefan intends to invite Maleficent to his daughter's christening. How will this change in events change Maleficent?
1. The Invitations

Chapter 1: The Invitations

"You're not going to invite her, now are you, dear?" Queen Leah said looking over her husband's shoulder as he examined the list.

"Why of course! She simply must come. It would be an insult if she didn't."

"But Stefan, look at what she's become. She's a monster. She constantly terrorizes the people of the kingdom."

"But Leah, my dear. Surely you don't consider scaring people in the streets a crime? She's just having some fun." King Stefan arose from his seat and rolled up the parchment. He stared at his wife intently, placing gentle hands on her shoulders. "Maleficent will come to Aurora's christening. It's the right thing to do, after all."

Leah sighed. "I hope you're right."

"Of course I am," said King Stefan giving her a peck on the cheek. "We'll send out the invitations on the morrow. For now think it's time we got some sleep." He picked up the candle off the table and guided his wife through the dank hallways of the castle back to their room.

As Queen Leah lay in bed, she couldn't help thinking that inviting Maleficent would be a mistake. Leah knew that the fairy's antics weren't purely for fun. Well, perhaps they were fun for her, but she knew that people were beginning to fear her. There were rumors going around saying that it was Maleficent going through the market and stealing people's possessions. She also heard stories of people being turned into pigs and crows as they were browsing the market. The only one whose power is said to be as powerful and evil as that is Maleficent. If people were going missing because of her, then there's no way they would invite her to the christening of their baby daughter.

She tossed and turned throughout the night, trying to find peace in her heart to relax. But the thought of the witch coming into their abode made her as stiff as board. Upon her back she gazed at the stone ceiling and felt herself slowly drifting off. She thought she heard a soft laughter resonate throughout the room. Her eyes darted about until she saw two orbs of yellow materializing before her, looking like eyes shining in the darkness. And then they were gone. Leah closed her eyes and prayed that the morning would come. She prayed that she would be able to convince her husband to reconsider the invitations.

"Stefan, might I have a word with you?" Leah said as she broke her fast. "Something has been troubling me lately."

"Yes, dear, what is it?" Stefan asked through a mouthful of food. "I hope it's not about Maleficent."

"Actually, it is. You see, I dreamed of her last night. It was pitch black and I saw two glowing yellow eyes floating in our room."

"In your dream? Or in reality?"

"Does it really matter? Dreams can become reality you know. I also heard laughing. A soft cackling if you will."

"You're just paranoid, Leah. Maleficent is not guilty of any serious crimes. She lives all alone on The Forbidden Mountain and only comes down to occasionally interact with the citizens of our kingdom. They're mere jests! Her enthusiasm and sense of fun would make the christening all the better! Trust me. When she does come she'll be the life of the party! And she will have to bestow a gift upon our child as will the other fairies that we invite."

"But those are the _good_ fairies. Why are you so intent on inviting this _evil _fairy to our daughter's christening? Are you willing to put her in danger? I ask you this as her _father, _Stefan_._ Would you do such as thing?"

"Leah, Maleficent is not evil, I can assure you. I'm fairly certain they're just rumours going on amongst the fairies. Probably just jealous of her power ..."

"Not jealous, I think, but afraid. The things she can _do_ Stefan!"

"Yes, quite amazing things in fact." Stefan cleared his throat and stared at her with a solemn expression. "I will hear no more of this. I shall send out the invitations at the end of this meal. She's coming, and you will just have to live with it."

"Yes, my liege."

They both proceeded to eat their meal in silence.


	2. Leah's Contemplation

Chapter 2: Leah's Contemplation

There's nothing quite like tea, Leah thought as she sat in her bedroom, drinking her hot, steamy ginger tea by the hearth. The scent of ginger reached her nostrils and she took in a large whiff of the steam. It was a drink she often had when anxiety was creeping upon her.

Though tea was hardly a drink for spring, remnants of winter still persisted as a layer of snow blanketed the thawing ground. A cool breeze blew into the drafty room, reminding her of the cold weather outside.

As she sat in the comfortable chair, Leah thought about her vehement opposition to inviting Maleficent. Had she been too hard on her husband? Was Maleficent merely misunderstood? Perhaps she should trust that Stefan knew what he was doing. After all, if she were Maleficent, wouldn't she take offense to not even being invited? Presently, she reasoned, there would be no cause for hard feelings, and all would be well. And who knows, maybe the fairy would simply _decline _the invitation. Why would someone with her reputation want to come to a christening anyway? Leah smiled at these thoughts. It suddenly occurred to her that King Stefan had it right. An invitation would be acceptable, but it was no guarantee that she would even come. But if she did ...

No, there's no way she would actually cause harm if they invited her. No way. And she would have to bestow a gift upon the child, this was true. It was known that any fairy that was invited to one's name day would have to give a gift to the individual in question. But what could Maleficent possibly offer their daughter Aurora? Leah thought about this deeply, thinking what exactly the fairy would give their daughter. Her thoughts soon came to her experience in the bedroom the other night.

A sudden panic came over her as she remembered those horrifying yellow eyes floating in her room. She took a sip of her tea, hoping to calm her nerves. After seeing the witch late in the night, laughing at her, mocking her ... she wondered why she would scare her like that. Is it purely out of amusement? Scaring people, yes, that should definitely be considered a crime. Creeping into people's bedrooms just to stare and laugh at them. She shivered at the thought.

But maybe Stefan was right. Maybe they were all just jests and she didn't really want to cause any grief or conflict in the kingdom. Thus far nothing all that bad has been reported. Some of the livestock had been killed, but who's to say that wasn't a wolf's doing? Yes, nothing out of the ordinary has occurred. At least, not yet. She took a sip of her hot tea, feeling the steamy contents pour into her belly. She set the tea on the table beside her and stood up. It was nearly noon and the kingdom wasn't going to rule itself. She arose from her seat and donned some royal clothes. It was time she met her husband in the throne room to plan for the christening. A task that she was steadily becoming more comfortable with.


	3. The Maleficent

Chapter 3: The Maleficent

Maleficent was totally awestruck by the paper her raven was holding in its talons. It was a rolled piece of parchment with a red ribbon holding it together. She thought about what it could be. It couldn't be the realtor; she already paid for the castle in full. It must be something else, but what? Her birthday? No, that couldn't be right. She never celebrated her birthday anymore. She stopped celebrating when she hit three hundred five. Getting old was never a pleasant thought. Curiosity got a hold of her and she gently removed the paper from her pet. Slowly she untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment and began to read it.

_Dearest Maleficent, _

_You've brought so much joy to our land, _

_Your pranks and sense of fun and adventure are a breath of fresh air, _

_It would be most pleasing if you could attend the christening of our daughter Aurora, _

_But if you do come we expect you to bring a gift of sorts, _

_It can be anything so long as it comes from you personally, _

_We wish you all the best, _

_Yours truly, _

_Stefan_

Maleficent thought about this. She actually received an invitation! This was a most joyful time for her. Being invited to the kingdom to welcome the king's newly born daughter and bestow upon her a gift is something she found very enticing. And the king actually enjoys her work ... her pranks ... She laughed slightly at this. How can he not see that it was she that roamed the streets, collecting peasants and turning them into her own foot soldiers? How could he think well of these things? This perplexed the nefarious fairy. She thought about this and felt that maybe Stefan wasn't all that _good_. Does he expect her to perform some sort of evil deed at the christening? A prank? Well, maybe she would do just that. A harmless prank, but a prank nonetheless. It would be the most ridiculous thing that would be so ridiculous that no one would ever think of ...*

"Come, my pet. We have a christening to prepare for." She allowed her raven to perch upon her shoulder as she glided up the stairs to her bedroom.

* * *

The next day, Maleficent was in her study, labouring over all her books on evil spells, curses and hexes. Some were really quite good. And by that, they were actually not good, but evil!

"All these amazing spells that I could possibly use," she mused, "but not one of them is good enough! I mean bad! None are all that evil!" She sighed as she kept turning the pages of _10 000 Ways to Curse a Baby_ going from one terrible spell to the next. "Hmm, _The Vomiting Spell_, the _Floating Away To Your Doom Spell_ ... _Spontaneous Combustion Curse_ ... Ah, _The Prick Your Finger On A Spindle When You're Sixteen and Die Curse_ ... hmm, now that sounds interesting!" Maleficent grinned as she began to read more about it. It was a simple curse to execute really. All she had to do was be in the presence of the child and see her death in her mind's eye. That was it. There also had to be a spinning wheel available. She was no seamstress, so she didn't own one. It would seem she would need to purchase one from the market. Well, steal one, more likely. She grinned at this. No one would even expect that Maleficent, the Mistress of Misdeeds, would need a spinning wheel!

But she began to ponder this whole plan of hers, thinking if it was really the best approach. Stealing a spinning wheel might make people think she's up to something. Purchasing one, though, that could give people a better idea as to whom she wanted to be viewed as. Maybe she should show people that she wanted to turn over a new leaf! And then obliterate their hopes in one fell swoop! Now _that_ would be evil. She would make people believe that she is a law-abiding citizen of The Forbidden Mountain until she delivers that curse. The gift that she would give to the child.

Maleficent sighed though. It was all too obvious. Too telling of her character to even be planning this misdeed. Her reputation as a mischievous miscreant would only be reinforced. Perhaps instead she should think of something else. Something no one would expect of her. Perhaps ... Maleficent arose and began scanning her bookcases, trying to find the only book relevant to her newly appointed task. She searched the shelves intensely, failing to find the book she wanted. The bookcase at the back of the room was the last to be searched. That was where the oldest and most neglected books were stored. She came over and examined the bottom shelf. A grin spread across her face as she noticed the old dusty tome placed at the very end of the row. She grasped it and blew the dust off. This was the book she was looking for: _When Good Becomes Bad._

* * *

_* a reference to Red vs Blue_


	4. The Christening

Chapter 4: The Christening

Leah was in the main hall busy putting up all the decorations along the walls. Streamers and banners hung bearing words welcoming the new baby princess to the kingdom. There were flags with the sigils of the gentry in all the land, as well as the lesser known houses in the kingdom. Some of the flags Leah didn't recognize, however, there was one flag that stood out to her. It was placed next to theirs behind the thrones; the house of King Hubert.

She knew that Hubert and his family would be welcomed guests here at the castle. Hubert's son was to wed their newborn daughter, after all. It was folly to impose upon someone their life partner, she knew. If it were up to her she would give Aurora a chance to find her own love. A chance at true happiness. But Stefan in his tenacity wanted to help his friend's kingdom prosper. To do this he needed to create a new dynasty beginning with their daughter; the two kingdoms merged.

"You finished with the streamers, Leah? The guests should be arriving at any moment." Stefan walked up to his wife from behind and placed his hands around her waist. He swayed her from side to side looking at the walls his wife designed.

"Oh Stefan. I'm still worried about Maleficent appearing. I know you think it was a good idea to send her the invitation, but what if she curses our child or does something as dreadful? I don't think I could bear being partly responsible for our daughter's or anybody else's ill fortune."

"I understand where you're coming from my dear," Stefan replied, taking his hands off her waist. He turned around and looked into her eyes. "I swear that Maleficent will cause no harm to our daughter. I'm sure she knows just how lucky we are to have bore a child after all these years. Doing anything to take her away from us would be something so unfathomably evil."

"Yes, it truly would." Leah sighed, not totally convinced by her husband's sentiments. "You're certain that Maleficent won't be of any harm to Aurora?"

"I'm certain." Stefan pecked Leah on the cheek.

"I do hope you're right, Stefan," Leah returned, doubt still in her voice. "I don't think I could ever forgive you if you were wrong." She turned towards the front doors and heard some clanking. "Oh, there goes the drawbridge. I suppose the guests should be arriving." Leah turned and scrambled away to her bedchamber to don some more appropriate clothes for their daughter's special day.

* * *

After the two fairies delivered their gifts, Maleficent was quite unamused. The gifts that the first two fairies bestowed were of such little consequence for what would really matter in real life.

Flora, the red fairy, decided to give her the gift of beauty. Beauty, Maleficent reasoned, didn't really have any value in one's life. It was all about what one could _do_ with their beauty that would make all the difference. She reflected upon this some more and thought that maybe Aurora's beauty, along with Maleficent's gift, could make all the difference.

Fauna's gift was to give her a voice like that of a bird. Maleficent furrowed her brow at the thought of this. Why would anyone need a superb singing voice? Will she be a musician? Will she dazzle the king and queen with her magnificently beautiful voice? Maleficent did not know the answers to these questions. With these two completely useless gifts bestowed, Maleficent watched eagerly as the last fairy flew over to where the baby lay in the cradle.

"Oh, glorious princess," Merryweather began as she looked into the cradle. "My gift to you will be ... the gift of magic!"

"Goodness me!" Flora cried. "You cannot give her the ability to use magic!"

"Yes dear, the princess should not be given magical abilities," Fauna added. "It's a huge responsibility!"

"Hush now," Maleficent said calmly to the two fairies as she observed Merryweather's blue magic cascading over the cradle. "There is no reason to worry. I'm sure each of us can teach the princess a thing or two as she grows." Maleficent stepped forward as Merryweather retreated back to the others, trying to hide her frustration with their disapproval.

"And now, Maleficent," King Stefan addressed. "What is it will you bestow upon our child? We have beauty, song, and magic. I am quite curious to see what gift you will bestow."

"A most harrowing task to be sure, Stefan, for I have never been to one of these events." She slowly approached the cradle placed before the king and queen. Gazing into it, she saw a baby in pink cotton clothes. It waved its tiny limbs frantically at the sight of Maleficent. Suddenly its bright blue eyes cringed; its face contorted in anguish. It let out a loud, long wail. Evidently, it was not happy with Maleficent's presence.

"Go on," urged the king. "Send her your gift."


End file.
